


Old Boots, New World

by TheSmolFlexibleBean



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Fuck The Canon I Have Fanfic, Gayest Cowboy in New Mexico, Homophobic Language, I lost the plot for the relationship part, Other, Plot Point Rehash, The language will pass after goes into the freeze tube, there's a blowjob, transphobic language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2018-10-26 13:36:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10787739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSmolFlexibleBean/pseuds/TheSmolFlexibleBean
Summary: A cowboy racing against time in a conservative town opts for a medical trial that turns his demons into reality. Frozen and thawed far into the future, now he must rebuild or be taken down by a life that he never should have seen in his lifetime.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm basically rehashing the plot idea from Future Shock but I had an idea that was too good to pass up! This time we have our favorite cowboy going through it but it won't be anything like Future Shock. It'll be pretty much full-canon timeline after he gets thawed out I promise you that.

_ Jesse was sprawled out on a beach surrounded by half naked guys all his age. He was tanning and relaxed, the picture of an adonis and he was in his own version of Heaven. Everyone seemed to be having a blast and splashing each other and he had a handsome guy by his side who was leaning in to kiss him. Of course he kissed back, why wouldn’t he but then he realized the guy tasted of dog food… _

 

 

Jesse woke up with a groan as he realized he’d just been swapping spit with Biscuit...again. He sat up and huffed as Biscuit spun around and sat, wagging her tail in glee for waking her master up.   


  
“Yes I’m getting up. Go wake up the others geez.”   


  
Biscuit was out of the room like a shot and Jesse looked at the clock.  _ Four A.M. _ Well, he did have a lot of work to do before breakfast. He quickly got out of his pajamas in into some jeans and a plain shirt before brushing his teeth and hair and tying it back in a ponytail, plopping his favorite hat on top. Now where was that belt buckle…   


  
He rifled through his drawers until he found the Best Amateur Male Fence hopper buckle and got it in place before slipping his boots on and making sure his little brother and sister were up which they  _ definitely were not. _ He sighed and went to the kitchen, passing his parents and grabbing a couple ice cubes from the tray and heading back, slipping it into their pajamas as they screamed.   


  
“Luke. Jessica. Go do your chores.”

  
“NO FAIR JESSE!”

 

“Mom’s gonna think I peed the bed…”   
  


Jesse shook his head with a smile and pointed to their bedroom door as they got dressed and went out to do the chores. He did give them an extra half an hour than usual. It was already five and he only had an hour to do his part for the house.    
  


That meant milking the cows, feeding the horses and cleaning the stalls before heading in to help cook breakfast with his mom as they sang to the Latino station and danced about the room as Biscuit weaved through their legs trying to score some fallen bacon if she tripped them. For a mutt she sure was spoiled.   
  


Once breakfast was set out they’d all eat together as a family and finish waking up for the day ahead. Dad had the crops to worry about, Jessica was going into Fifth grade this year and Luke was headed into Third. Jesse himself had his freshman year of highschool to look forward to, not that he was pleased about it.   
  


Same kids, new hormones was more like it. At least he’d still have his best friends to hang out with. He helped clean up from breakfast and then got his younger siblings their backpacks and lunches before he got his own stuff and waited for the bus, humming a faint tune to himself.   
  


As soon as he saw the bus he ran and got on, heading straight for the back which ended up with him sitting on a guy with bright blonde hair and green eyes along with an ear cuff who wrapped his arms around Jesse.   
  
“Well if it isn’t my favorite cowboy.”

  
“Shit Will sorry.”

  
“Nah I totally enjoy the smell of horse farts in the morning.”

  
“Oh you’re an ass.”

  
“Well I am your best bud. Come on, get off.”   


  
They laughed and Jesse moved off of his best friend, sitting beside him as Jesse dropped his bag between his legs and stretched.   


  
“First day of Freshman year Will. You think it’ll be like our favorite movie?”

  
“Which one. Mean Girls? I’m betting Mean Girls.”

  
“No Mad Max.”

  
“Dude which one.”

  
“Thunderdome.”

  
“Ooooo harsh. You hear from Trish over the summer?”

  
“No why?”

  
“She finally got her parents to call her it. I hear she’s on hormones now.”

  
“Dude awesome for her!”

  
“Yeah right? Let’s hope she’s allowed in school since...you know.”

  
“Oh god don’t remind me. Bad enough they refused to let that one senior last year go to prom with his boyfriend.”

  
“Brandon right? And Christian.”

  
“Yeah the ones your brother Jacob know.”

  
“Oh riiiight. Too bad he graduated too.”

  
“Yeah right?”   


  
They both sighed, two kids ready for hell as the bus came to a stop and they headed off and towards prison incarnate for a teenager.  _ Hallowed Cross High School. _ Could someone have named it something different? Probably since it was two miles from Santa Fe and the population was mostly rich kids, farm kids and minority kids from all around the few towns that surrounded the school. The boys found their way to homeroom and saw a girl with short choppy hair, a denim skirt and a button up on and they joined her in the back.   


  
As soon as Roll call hit there was problems. They were calling Trisha by her dead name and when she spoke up about her name change the teacher kicked her out of the room.  _ Nothing changes as usual. _ That was why he was friends with Will and Trisha. Will’s only interest in life was machines and Trisha was a goddess in a dress.   


  
Then there was Jesse...the gayest cowboy in New Mexico, or so he claimed to be to his two best friends. The three of them were the only connection to ‘normal life as they put it but it was more like they had enough brains not to be assholes.   


  
When lunch rolled around they all sat together in a corner and kept out of everyone’s way, chatting about their lives on the outside as if school was a prison...though it was in all aspects of the word. Shitty food, violent people and volatile conditions. Jesse stared off at the other students and saw a kid being pushed about by two jocks.   
  
“Jesse no.”

  
“Jesse don’t.”

  
“Jesse yes.”   


  
He got up and walked over, pulling the kid behind him as he glared the two jocks down. Jesse knew he looked like a lanky beanpole with not enough meat to his bones but his friends knew better. He shattered Tommy Delancey’s face in sixth grade over twenty bucks which is also how he became friends with Will and Trisha.   


  
“Step off kid. We’re trying to get rid of this little fag.”

  
“I wanna know what gives you the right to pick on  _ my friend _ . You're a high school has-been waiting to happen. A future gas station attendant.”   


  
Trisha and Will had taken the kid to safety and the jocks squared up to fight. Jesse smirked and cracked his knuckles before throwing a punch. It connected with the jock’s jaw and sent him backwards. Jesse had caught a wild stallion and tamed it. He’d ridden bulls and fought adult men bigger than these assholes. He knew he’d win the fight.   


  
It was over in a few minutes, the teachers rushing in as Jesse let his body go dead weight and pretend to be the victim. It was his best tactic in middle school when he got into fights and it still seemed to work now. The jocks were hauled off to the principal’s office and Jesse strode back to the lunch table.   


  
“So kid, what’s your name?”

  
“Uh...Jay. Thanks.”

 

“No problem. So, welcome to the freak table, EST. sixth grade. Trisha’s the fabulous girl with the ebony skin right there and Will’s the blonde boy scout who loves chocolate more than people.”

  
“And our MC of the evening is about as straight as a damn circle sit down Jesse and give me some chips.”

  
“Sorry Trisha…”   


  
He sat down and took in their new addition’s features. They had soft hazel eyes and black hair, obviously Asian American. He’d have to ask what country later on. Honestly the other was everything Jesse could have wanted in a guy, despite the half naked muscular men he saw in his dreams.   


  
The rest of the school day went by without much problem and when he was on the bus again he sat by Will who was drawing a robotic arm in a sketchbook and putting all sorts of figures into it. Jesse quirked a brow at his friend who smiled brightly.   


  
“It’s the next thing in prosthesis. I’m gonna call it Biometric hardware. See this one? It’d be an arm.”

  
“Why does it have a huge skull on it?”

  
“To make it badass duh! Wait.”   
  


He scribbled on it a little more and then tore the page out, folding it up and tucking it into the sleeve of Jesse’s plaid shirt.   


  
“There. This way when I get famous you can have an original design and we can always find each other. I bet you’ll be a world famous rodeo cowboy by then!”

  
“You know those days are over. I barely escaped paralysis last year and now I got this stupid back pain.”

  
“Haaa old man.”

  
“We’re the same age!”

  
They laughed and soon enough Jesse got off the bus and headed inside to once again help his mother with anything she needed. It was a hard life, sure, and sometimes they didn’t make ends meet. Still, it was the only life he knew and the only life he could ever see himself in.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I know this is a shorter chapter but we're finally getting out of the transphobia and homophobia after this chapter! We'll also be having a big timeskip and going into the future at last! As always, enjoy.

It was finally autumn. When breezes made the air cooler and leaves turned beautiful colors as kids jumped around in piles. Jesse was walking through Santa Fe with his group of friends, smiling and laughing as they talked about this year’s Halloween party.   


  
“I say Will’s house so we get to have a drink.”   


  
“You guys drink?!”   


  
“Well yeah. We’re the bad kids for a reason Jay.”   


  
“Holy shit.”   


  
“By the way. Jay. Where’s your parents from? You got an accent is all.”   


  
“I have an accent? You all have the accent. They’re from Michigan. I’m adopted.”   


  
“Ooooh. From where?”   


  
“South Korea. Is that important?”   


  
“Nah I was just curious.”   


  
The group all laughed and Jay smiled shyly. He’d fit into their group well, even if he was straight in romantic attraction.  _ Romantic and sexual attraction were different things after all and being Aromantic was a perfectly fine thing to be. _   


  
Jesse also knew this might be the last time he sees his friends ever. The farm was failing and they had to move soon unless they could gather more money up. That was also the reason he was in Santa Fe with his friends. He’d found a desk job for some lab place in the paper and was going there to apply. Some place that did medical research from what he could find online when he was at the library. He knew he wasn’t one for pushing papers but...he wanted to stay in New Mexico. He wanted to stay with his friends. He wanted to keep living the live he had, especially with a baby sister on the way in a few months.   


  
Eventually they reached the laboratories and Jesse bid his friends goodbye, walking in. He knew damn well he’d have to lie about his age on the application since nobody would hire people under 16 even for a desk job.  _ Three years wasn’t bad to lie about right? _ He approached the desk and the woman behind the counter looked up.   


  
“Test subjects to the left.”   


  
“I’m not a…”   


  
“Well if you’re here for the desk job it’s filled. Test Subject, take it or leave it.”   


  
“Uhm...what’s the testing for?”   


  
“Testing muscle, bone structure and impulses in humans so we can try and copy it into machinery. For prosthetics.”   


  
“Oh okay. I could do that.”   


  
“Alright just fill out this form and head to the left.”   


  
He went through the left side doors, writing down his information on the clipboard as he walked to a room with a bunch of other people. Some of the questions were a bit odd though but it seemed okay enough to put the truth.   


 

  
_ Name: Jesse McCree _ _   
_

__   
_ Age: 16 _ __   
__   


_ Hometown: Pecos, New Mexico _ __   
__   


_ Gender: Male _ __   
__   


_ Sex: Male _ __   
  


_ Religion: Catholic _

__   
_ Orientation: Gay _ __   
__   


_ Ethnicity: Latino _

__   
  
The paperwork went on and on and by the time he was done a lot of people handed in their paperwork and were turned away after the first page. Maybe they were looking for something specific? He got up and handed his paperwork to a lady at a window who took one look at it and smiled.   


  
“Head inside young man.”   
  


He grinned and headed into the small door which lead to a hallway of doors. A doctor soon appeared and started talking about how he was perfect for their research due to diversity and all that and eventually he was brought to a room with a chair that had straps. He had a nervous expression on for a moment.   
  


“We send electrical impulses through the body that sometimes gives a side effect of muscle spasms. We don’t want you to hurt yourself as safety is a top priority of ours.”

  
He nodded, fears quelled for a moment as he went to the chair and was asked to strip down to his underwear and sit down which he did without a fuss. Then electrodes were strapped to his person and a gag was put in his mouth. _Probably to keep him from biting his tongue or his jaw locking up._   


  
Then he saw something that made him panic. The doctors were putting an IV in that led to what looked like some dark liquid.  _ Definitely wasn’t blood. _ He struggled but he couldn’t get free, terror in his eyes.   


  
“Stop squirming or you’ll tear a vein. We’re just  _ trying to help you. _ This way the good lord can accept you with open arms. We’ll make sure you never have an impure thought about boys again.”   
  


He tried to scream but it was muffled by the gag in his mouth as tears formed in his eyes the closer the liquid got. As soon as it entered his bloodstream it felt...it  _ it burned. _ But it was a sweet kind of burn. The kind of burn you get when you’re eating homemade cooking but a little bit spicy. Like his mom would make every Easter.  _ It was almost comforting. _ His screams died down and his eyes slipped shut, plunging him into darkness.   
  


 

_ “I will take care of you...Jesse McCree.” _


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! We're finally up to the last fic update of the night. Now I will admit this. It took me five hours to write the blowjob scene. Only because I kept getting distracted. And I had to look at a lot of gay porn which wasn't a bad thing it was totally worth it. Anyways. As usual, enjoy.

_ Jesse’s eyes opened slowly as he heard the soft rushing of the shower. Was he in the locker room at school? He must have fallen asleep. He sat up slowly as he felt an odd sense of deja vu as someone came from the shower room, a towel around his waist. Dark skin and green eyes along with curly chocolate hair.  _ **_Aaron Gart._ ** _   
_

__   
_ “Oh you woke up. Coach was worried about you.” _ __   


__   
_ “Huh?” _ __   


__   
_ “You passed out during gym. I brought you in here to cool off so I took a shower. You feeling okay?” _ __   


__   
_ Jesse blushed as the other came over and smiled. Such perfect teeth and sweet lips. How he wished he could… _ __   


__   
_ “Jesse?” _ __   


__   
_ “Sorry what?” _ __   


__   
_ “I asked if you need another shirt. Yours ripped when you fell into the bush.” _ __   


__   
_ “Oh. No I’m fine.” _ __   


__   
_ Jesse slipped his shirt off and Aaron laughed softly. God he could feel his heart beating out of his chest. Why did it have to be the one football player he had a crush on since seventh grade. He didn’t realize he was staring until Aaron snapped his fingers. _ __   


__   
_ “You zoned out.” _ __   


__   
_ “Sorry. You’re just…” _ __   


__   
_ “Handsome. I know. You have a crush on me.” _ __   


__   
_ “How did you...” _ __   


__   
_ “Trisha. She’s my sister remember?” _ __   


__   
_ Jesse’s face went bright red and he hid it behind his hands which were moved away softly. God he felt like he was ready to die here and now. But he was distracted easily by soft lips on his.  _ **_Aaron was kissing him...oh god._ ** _ Jesse instantly melted, his body moving forward until his chest was against Aaron’s, his eyes shut. When they parted Jesse could have sworn the room was spinning. _ __   


__   
_ “Hey...Jesse. Ever gotten a blow job?” _ __   


__   
_ “N...No…” _ __   


__   
_ “Want one?” _ __   


__   
_ Jesse’s eyes went wide as Aaron’s towel fell and Jesse’s eyes were immediately drawn to...Ah he was wearing underwear.  _ **_Fucking tease._ ** _ Well he didn’t get long to stare before he heard the distinct sound of his belt coming undone and his zipper going down. _ __   


__   
_ “B-But the door…” _ __   


__   
_ “Shh. If you make noise we’ll get caught.” _ __   


__   
_ Jesse nodded quickly as he felt his pants and underwear slowly being pulled down.  _ **_God was being a tease just his life goal?_ ** _ His eyes slipped shut once more as he felt the other’s lips on the head of his cock, giving it a kiss. _ __   


__   
_ Hell, Jesse couldn’t even help the shaky breath that passed his lips as his eyes opened a crack to see Aaron on his knees, tongue barely sticking out as he gave Jesse’s cock head a few licks. Every little touch seemed to send electricity up Jesse’s spine and his eyes slipped shut again. _ __   


__   
_ He didn’t dare open his eyes, even when he felt Aaron lick him from the base of his cock to the tip. He couldn’t when he felt Aaron’s mouth completely on his dick, sucking and bobbing his head as he took every inch. He did have to cover his mouth to muffle the moans trying to escape his tightly shut lips. _ __   


__   
_ Every passing second was like a blessed agony, trying to keep quiet and knowing that every passing moment he could feel the knot getting tighter and tighter in his lower abdomen. God he could hear himself  _ **_whimpering_ ** _. He felt pathetic but it was thrilling at the same time the closer he came to orgasm. _ __   


__   
_ And then he felt Aaron just take the soul right out of his body by  _ **_humming._ ** _ Jesse lost it at that point, death gripping the bench he was on as he orgasmed right into Aaron’s mouth.  _ **_But he didn’t stop._ ** _ God Jesse really was getting the soul sucked out of his body wasn’t he? _ __   


_   
_ _ He didn’t know how long he was stuck in that high, just slowly losing his balance and consciousness before he passed out. _

 

 

Jesse’s eyes opened and his whole body felt stiff. The air smelled...he wasn’t sure. He did know there was an oxygen mask on him...at least he thought it was. He could feel the oxygen going into his lungs but his eyes were so blurry he couldn’t really tell.  _ How long had he been out...and why did the walls look like some sort of bedroom. _ The more everything came into focus the more he realized he  _ was _ in a bedroom, a quilt gently laid over his body.   


  
Before he did anything he needed to get the stiffness from his body...or roll on his side.  _ God his head and back were killing him. _ He tried to roll over but all it gave him was more pain, especially in his limbs.  _ Guess he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. _   


  
Suddenly the door opened and a woman walked in, miniskirt and a crop top, black hair tied back in a loose ponytail with a bored expression on. She walked over and started typing on what looked like a tablet from his field of vision before she noticed he was awake.   


  
“Well, welcome to the land of the living boy. You talk or am I gonna have to get some shit to probe your brain.”   


  
Jesse Opened his mouth to speak but his throat was so dry, just as stiff as the rest of him. The woman on rolled her eyes and grabbed something out of his sight line and slipped it on his head which caused him to shiver.  _ Why the hell was it cold and tingling! _   


  
The woman went back to typing away, looking at the screen and popping some gum into her mouth, chewing away. The more Jesse could see of her with all her tattoos he assumed she was some sort of biker girl. Especially the tramp stamp with the winged skull.   


  
After whatever was on his head had stopped tingling she took it off and put it away, never speaking a word to him. Was this all he was? Some sort of lab rat to whoever was around? Though this place looked more like some Texan rancher room than a lab. He heard her speak and his eyes moved to her.   


  
“So boy. Your name’s Jesse huh? Well that fit the papers we found. Weird they stuffed you in a tube though but Pa will probably figure that out from those old tapes. Can’t move or speak either. Well at least you’ll be a fresh body against the omnics when you’re usable.”   


  
Jesse’s face was nothing but confusion. Omnics? Tube? He had no idea what the hell this woman was talking about! Last thing he remembered was being strapped in a chair and...oh... _ oh god. _ He could feel the panic rising in his chest as his breathing became erratic. He didn’t want to remember that.  _ He didn’t want to remember his sheer terror. _ The woman rushed over and quickly typed something as the air he was breathing made him feel...dizzy. It at least calmed him down and she spoke again.   


  
“Great. You get panic attacks too. Well...If Pa wants you around I guess we’ll just deal. Stiffness should go away in another hour or so and then we can get you out of those civil clothes and get you a shower. Nothing like a few decades on the bones hm? By the way if you can talk again just holler for Sally. That’s me.”   


  
The woman left the room and all Jesse could do was stare at the ceiling as the dull ache of his back and head filled the minutes that went by, his body coming back to him slowly. First it was his fingers and toes. Then his arms and legs. From there it moved to his torso and then his head.  _ That’s when the pain hit. _ He tried to scream out but nothing left his throat, his vocal cords still paralyzed.

 

_ Was this his punishment? Was God mocking him? _ He then realized. Sally said decades. He wasn’t in pain for punishment.  _ His muscles were lacking use. _ Slowly he moved his muscles, trying to get his body back to working condition. At least whatever was entering his lungs was slowly taking the pain away.   


  
By the time he could finally move Sally had come back.  _ Were those his old clothes? He could see his belt buckle and his favorite plaid shirt along with his hat. _ Well...at least he still had that. Maybe Will’s drawing was still in the pocket of his pants...He hoped so. All of this though...it was making him tired. So very tired. Well...a nap wouldn’t hurt right?   


  
His eyes slipped shut as he fell into a dreamless sleep, his body relaxing for the first time in god only knew how long.  _ He’d find out everything when he woke up...definitely. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I got work in a few hours but I wanted to leave you all with this!~ We got an invincible flip phone, some gay ass gangsters and the DeadEye speaking to Jesse. This I swear will be a shorter fic than A Million Lessons! Anyways as usual, enjoy.

It took a while for Jesse’s body and voice came back to him.  _ Decades of being a human popsicle does that for a person. _ First it was sitting up. Then it was walking. From there it was relearning to speak. It was like a fucked up therapy session with different guys and girls always in and out of the room to help him. They all looked like some sort of desert gang.   


  
That was the big thing.  _ He still hadn’t seen outside. He had no idea where he even was. _ At least his old clothes still fit him. And surprisingly his old flip phone worked once he managed to get a little juice in it. But the messages...the voicemails...he’d never see or hear them. The service to his phone had been cut decades ago after all. It was more like a paperweight than anything by this point.   


  
He’d finally gotten his body and voice back in order mostly which meant he could finally leave the upstairs of the building. He’d finally see what was below. He left his hat on his bed and looked at the drawing Will made him so long ago he kept at his bedside that was now faded and aged, slipping it into his jeans pocket.  _ Alright. One step at a time. _   


  
He left his bedroom, using the wall to keep him stabilized as he half stumbled down the hallway to the staircase. He could hear music and voices downstairs, muted greatly behind a heavy door. This was it, no turning back. He gripped the handrail with both hands, slowly taking each step with caution. His body wasn’t what it used to be after all and some things still weren’t fully up to par. He didn’t have all his strength.   


  
Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he put his hand to the door. Was he really ready for whatever lay on the other side. What might happen the moment he stepped out? He shook his head and pushed on the door as it opened and the voices went quiet.

 

“Well well, looks like the prairie dog got some feet.”   


  
“Lay off Henry or you gonna get shot.”   


  
“Yes’m miss Sally.”   


  
“S’what I thought. Come on out Jesse sweetie. Nobody’s gonna bite.”   


  
He nervously stepped out, eyes to the floor. Honestly he was terrified even if he’d already been here two months. Hell, he was nearing 14 years old now yet physically he looked like a bean pole fucked a mutt of a dog and then raised the child on nothing but scraps from a poor family’s dinner table.

 

He didn’t dare look up until he felt hands on his shoulders, looking up into Sally’s dark eyes that seemed a lot less bored with him now. Maybe almost familiarly to him. She shook her head with a sigh and helped him to one of the tables, sitting him down.   


  
“I’ll get Pa. Tell him our popsicle can use the stairs now.”   


  
“Th-Thanks.”   


  
“No problem kid. Just sit there and don’t get into trouble.”   


  
She walked off and a plate of food was set down in front of Jesse.  _ God he hadn’t seen mashed potatoes since...he couldn’t remember.  _ He immediately dug in with glee, scarfing it down like a starving mongel on a fast food binge.   


  
Once he finished he saw an older man walking out with Sally close behind.  _ They looked very similar. Family maybe? _ The man stopped at Jesse’s table and tilted his chin up as if examining him.   


  
“Not the strongest pup. You sure you pulled this kid out of a cryo tube?”   


  
“Yes pa.”   


  
“Hm. Matches the kid on the video with the smoke figure. We’ll keep him. Get the kid a gun and get him strong. We don’t do weak in DeadLock.”   


  
The man let Jesse go and the poor boy had the most confused look on his face.  _ Smoke figure? He didn’t remember that. A voice, sure, but not a figure. _ Sally quirked a brow at him and he quickly looked back to the table, not sure whether to speak up or not as the man left the room.   


  
“Well then Jesse looks like you’re officially one of us now. You like needles?”   


  
“No ma’am.”   


  
“Oh you’re gonna hate the tat then.”   


  
_ Tat as in TATTOO?!  _ He gulped nervously as two guys came over and held him down, a third bringing out a tattoo gun. What happened next could only be described as uncomfortable whimpering and the mechanical sounds of ink piercing skin in the shape of a winged skull.

 

After that he was apparently ‘official’ and everyone was much more friendly to him, chatting him up and giving him scraps of their food.  _ Made him feel more like a pet but hey, food was food. _ By the time the meal finished Henry took him to the front doors, opening them as he was met with what seemed like a small desert town where nothing seemed to move.   


  
“Welp, welcome to Santa Fe Jesse.”   


  
“ _ This  _ is Santa Fe? Where’s the buildings, the street lights. Where’s the city!”   


  
“City? This is nothing but desert now since the omnics.”   


  
“What even is an omnic!”   


  
“Uh...Living robots that want to kill humanity for enslaving them.”   


  
“Wait so like...Terminator?”   


  
“Holy shit you are old. Yeah. Somethin like that.”   


  
“Damn…Never thought robots would get psycho on us...Just assumed President Tinyhands would fuck us over.”   


  
“Uh...okay then. Anyways here.”   


  
“Is this a pistol?”   


  
“Somethin like that. It’s a pulse pistol we got off a train robbery. I don’t use it as anything but a backup gun so you can have it...You do know how to shoot right?”   


  
“Of course I do! I grew up on a farm!”   


  
“Alright good. So about the smoke thing…”   


  
“I have no idea what he meant. I don’t even know how I got wherever I was. I blacked out and...and woke up in the bed upstairs. It was like being asleep for a really long time.”   


  
“Huh. Maybe I can go nab the files for you. It was some real fucked up shit.”   


  
“I...I’d rather not see.”   


  
“Alright. So...What was life like back then?”   


  
“Huh?”   


  
“Back when shit wasn’t all cockeyed.”   


  
“Hm...Lots of nuclear threats and war. So I guess not much different.”   


  
“Nah, don’t really seem like it when you put it like that.”   


  
“Henry come inside!”   


  
“Comin hun.”   


  
Jesse froze for a moment, hearing the man’s voice behind him.  _ Wait...Were they a couple? And nobody was hurting them? _ He looked to Henry who was smiling happily s he went inside to kiss a man with skin as dark as chocolate.  _ Shit...Maybe the future wasn’t all bad. _   


  
He smiled sadly, looking up to the sky as he thought on some things. Were his friends still alive? Were they still out there, wondering where their gay cowboy went? What about his siblings, his parents. He didn’t even feel the tears until one landed on the railing in front of him, causing him to reach a hand up and wipe his eyes.   


  
Okay...the future had drawbacks. He could admit that. At least he was alive, though he could feel a headache coming on. He’d been getting them on and off the past few weeks it seemed and they were only getting worse since the pain liked to travel up and down his spine. He subconsciously traced the scar along his back from nearly getting his spine severed by that pissed off bull when he was younger.    


  
Honestly, the more he thought about it, the more he realized what he missed. Homecoming. Prom. He never got to grow up like he was supposed to. He never got to see his baby sister born. He never saw his siblings grow up and fall in love. He missed everything he should have had in life.   


  
His hands gripped the railing tight, feeling like the Earth was going to open up beneath him and swallow him whole.  _ He never should have taken that job. He could have just moved and written his friends or bought a computer. He didn’t have to be such an idiot! _   


  
His tearful pity party faded away as something warm flowed through him, almost like a calming burn.  _ That same burn he felt in the labs. _ His shaking stopped and he let go of the railing, his legs going out from under him as he fell on his ass.   


  
_ “You aren’t strong enough. Quit whining. Whine when you are dead vaquero.” _   


  
“Wha...who's there.”   


  
_ “You’re talking to the air vaquero. I’m not outside. I’m  _ **_i n s i d e._ ** _ ” _   


  
“In my...head?”   


  
_ “Si...Now stop crying and start preparing. I did not give up my freedom for a whining little baby.” _   


  
Everything became dizzy suddenly as the warm feeling turned to ice and he screamed, everything going black.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU ARE NOT DREAMING. THIS IS AN ACTUAL UPDATE! I finally managed to pull my head out of work caused sludge to write a chapter. We touch on what happened to Jesse's family along with some memories he never got to see. Enjoy~

Jesse had to admit...being part of a gang wasn’t everything his mother warned him about.  _ Jesse Jandero McCree if you join a gang I will string you from the rafters. _ He could hear his mom chastising him already. But...she was dead as far as Jesse knew. After the Omnic Crisis started a lot of New Mexico was turned to desert and ash, leaving nothing in its’ wake. Most of the midwest was honestly just one big apocalypse. You either got strong or  _ real dead. _ Jesse had become the first, being put through the ringer the past two months. It went from getting his muscles back in order to getting into fist fights with fellow gangsters to give him a sense of what it was like to get in a fist fight.  _ Like Jesse didn’t know that from experience. _   


  
That wasn’t to say he was nothing but a hardened gangster. Nobody around here was really, just people trying to live within the means they were given. And they were given  _ jack fucking shit. _ He shut his eyes, sighing as he leaned on the railing. Today. Today he would visit the farm...if there was anything left at this point. Would there even be something to go back to?  _ He’d have to try. _   


  
He adjusted the vest over his shirt and pulled the bandanna up over the lower half of his face, grabbing a motorcycle from behind the bar he’d known as home since he woke up as he took off, leaving dust in his wake as he sped off.  _ Pecos, New Mexico...He could remember the way in his sleep. _ It wasn’t hard to find what he was looking for.   


  
_ It was still here...after so many decades it was still there. _ Well...at least as much as it could be. The crops were heavily overgrown and the farmhouse was falling apart. It was definitely abandoned...God only knew how long ago. There wasn’t even the sounds of animals except for the songbirds. He took a few steps onto the land and a feeling like waves hitting him filled him.  _ There was nothing left of his old life here but memories.  _ He frowned and rushed through overgrown plants until he found the shed, kicking the termite corroded door in and grabbing a sickle.

 

The place wasn’t...it wasn’t too far gone. He worked tirelessly to unbury the farmland. Every day he would gain a little more ground, sleeping under the stars at night. By the time Deadlock found him he had already finished half of the once destroyed land.   


  
“Jesse...what the everliving fuck have you been doing?”   


  
“Cleaning up my old home. What does it look like?”   


  
“This was where you came from?! Shit this place has been abandoned for a decade. I’m surprised the house is still standing! Right Jacob?”   


  
“Yeah, after the crisis started we used to get food from here. Some siblings or something took care of the place…”   


  
“Jessica, Luke and Violet...I know them. They were my little siblings.”   


  
“Aaah they didn’t use your last name. That’s why. What was it...Jandero? Yeah they used that.”   


  
“It’s my middle name. They probably changed it in secret thinking I died.”   


  
“Probably...Uh...You need help there?”   


  
“Yeah...Yeah I do.”   


  
He didn’t realize how badly this place, the memories had been weighing on him until Jacob and Frank started helping. They left eventually but the land had been stripped of dead crops and weeds. Now Jesse could see how badly his old home had been destroyed. There was holes from bombs all over the place, parts of the house having only been held together by creeping vines. The chicken coop, the stables...every piece of it had been ripped apart and animal bones were scattered across the fields. He took a calming breath, knowing there was only one last place he needed to look.  _ The house… _

 

Jesse slowly walked to the house, touching the back door with its’ peeling paint and bullet holes. It was obvious his siblings had made a last stand here...before they either died or left the land forever. He pushed it open as it gave a groan of protest. He tried not to feel tears as he walked inside.   


  
“I’m home...did’ya miss me?”   


  
His voice drifted through the empty and dust coated kitchen. The cabinets were all open, bare from scavenging. The fridge and chest freezer were in the same condition. Broken glass from the windows and light fixtures crunched under his boots as he walked to a corner and looked at a box which he knew used to house his mother’s flowers. There was nothing but dirt remaining, a silver item barely peaking out. He dug it up to see the cellar key, just where he left it when he... _ when he left forever. _ He pocketed it and went into the living room.   


  
Photographs lined the walls, obviously from after he left. His siblings growing up in still life memories. Weddings and funerals...nieces and nephews he never got to meet. Biscuit growing old...He tried to force the tears down as he got the newest photo on the wall. There was his whole family, laughing in a family portrait.  _ They grew up so...so good. _ He took the photo out of it’s frame and put it into his vest pocket, looking through the bedrooms next. 

 

The only one that was untouched was his. His stuff was still just as he left it, covered in decades of dust.  _ Mama probably never had the heart to clean it or pack the stuff away. _ He sighed and gently shut the door to the door, moving onward. It wasn’t his room anymore, nor was it his life. It was no longer anything he could have come back to. This was the time of new memories.

 

The last place to check was the cellar. He brought the key out and tried the lock, finding it busted.  _ Probably rusted shut. _ He forced the lock after a few times and the door swung open, greeting him with the musty smell of mold and old mementos. He descended the stairs slowly, hearing them creak and protest under his feet as if he held the weight of time on his shoulders. As he looked around all he saw was boxes upon boxes.  _ Well he had to start somewhere. _ _   
_

__   
He worked backwards through time, opening box upon box of memories he never got to see. Baby clothes, toys and special pieces of broken things he would never understand the significance of. Stacks of letters in the mail unopened with his name on them, mostly from his friends. One stack was tied with pretty pastel ribbon that was mouse chewed.  _ To Big Brother Jesse. _ He didn’t recognise the handwriting. Too young to be Jessica or Luke...Had Violet written them? Each one was written in crayon and made Jesse’s heart ache. She had written about the year and things that had happened. Every one said Happy Birthday.  __ They were birthday letters. Addressed to him by a sister he never knew.   


  
_ “There is nothing for you here boy...Leave it be. You know they’re dead.” _   


  
“Shut up...They...They could have gotten away! They could be alive somewhere!”   


  
_ “There is nothing left. Go back to your little family. Your new family. Trust in me and you will never feel this again.” _   


  
Jesse felt a shiver go down his spine as he grabbed all the letters and left the cellar, going back to his motorcycle and leaving the place he called home behind. The demon in his head was right about one thing...there really wasn’t anything left for him there. It wasn’t his home anymore. There was no requiem to sing for something he was torn away from. Sometimes being ‘possessed’ had its’ advantages; especially with reigning in his emotions. Emotions in the Deadlock gang made you weak, took you too long to take the shot. You either live or die in the desert heat and  _ like hell Jesse would be one of the dead after getting a second chance. _   


  
When he reached the base again he went to his room and hid the letters before joining the others in the bar. They seemed to be having fun tossing some tied up animal around. The more he looked though...the more he realized the ‘animal’ was wearing tattered clothes and was letting out muffled screams.  _ Shit...that was a child! _ He got up but a hand pushed him back down into his seat. It was one of the higher ups...what was his name? Victor. His platinum blonde hair was cut short and his ice blue eyes held malice as he spoke.   


  
“Well pup, you’re all healed up hm? We should really get you initiated. See that little present we caught? Boys found her trying to infiltrate the base and catch us off guard. Rats like her deserve a  _ merciful _ end. But who ever said we were full of mercy. Time to finally earn your fangs.”   


  
Jesse mentally took back everything nice he’d said about the gang in that moment.  _ Kill a kid? What the fuck was wrong with these people! _ He was brought to his feet and a gun placed in his hands as they set the child down. Jesse couldn’t meet the girl’s eyes because every glance into them showed her sheer terror. He couldn’t do this...Not to someone younger than he was. She was helpless, completely innocent for all he knew. But his muscles weren’t responding to him anymore. He...no... _ the demon _ raised the gun with cold eyes. All Jesse could see was smoke, laughter echoing in his ears. A shot rang out and his muscles responded to him at last, dropping the gun.  _ Blood...there was so much blood… _ He felt his stomach seize up and he raced to the nearest bathroom to vomit.

 

_ What had he done... _


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look I'm not dead! Sorry if this chapter is a little shorter than normal, I've been trying to rework it for a few days now so I could focus on what I wanted to cover. We have a big time skip here, a few years, but it's worth it. WE ARE FINALLY GETTING TO BLACKWATCH.

It had been years since the incident that he became a full fledged member of the gang. Now a boy of seventeen, he had seemingly grown cold and indifferent to life. But he still had that photograph tucked away in his vest. He read those letters every night to keep his sanity. Tonight was just like any other, eating and drinking until you passed out. But Jesse never did. _He was smart._ After everyone was out he’d fuck with them and go upstairs, lying down and thinking about his life, his friends. 

  
He rolled onto his back so he could disconnect the brace that Sally had grabbed on a little raiding spree at one point. Once that was done he rolled onto his stomach and slipped the letters out of the case he had gotten for them. He’d been reading the ones meant for himself, for the birthdays he never had. He was at the final letter at last. _Violet probably was stopped by mama or grew out of it._ He sighed and gently eased the envelope open with the tip of a knife. The paper wasn’t as crumbling as the rest of them but he still opened it so carefully as if it would fall apart in his hands. This one was done in pencil and was neatly written...With a crayon one behind it. _His mom and sister Violet._

  
  
_Dear Jesse,_ _  
_

  
_Seven years have gone by and it still hurts. It hurts knowing that the money you brought to this house saved up but made us lose you. You would have been an adult by now, probably in college with that big brain of yours. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the pain of losing you; my eldest son and my beautiful boy. I wish I never let you go into town and take that job. I wish I had just sold the farm and moved away with you all. We would have been happier. You would have been safe. None of us would have wondered where you went or why you never came home. I love you. I love you so much._

_  
_ _Mama_

  
  
He sighed and put the letter in his vest with the photograph and Will’s sketch that he kept close to him. Then it was onto the last letter his little sister ever wrote. He read over it slowly, trying to make sure he wouldn’t cry.

  
  
_Dear Big Brother,_ _  
_

  
_Hi! I’m seven today! I don’t like being seven. Naps are scarce and I really like naps. Did you like naps big brother? I super duper like naps. Oh! We got a new chicken and we named it Andy and he’s really super mean. I still hugged him and he likes me. I think you would like him too._

  
_Love,_   


_Violet_

  
  
He gently placed the letter back into the envelope and hid it back under his pillow, burying his face into it as he tried to sleep off the day’s robberies and general assholic missions. He ended up falling into a dreamless sleep, only ending up awaken by the blaring of an alarm. 

  
He was up like a shot, getting his brace on and grabbing his gun. He pressed himself to his bedroom wall, hair a mess and pants fly unzipped. He heard gunshots downstairs which meant he had time to quickly get himself back into sorts. He made sure to load his gun and zip up his pants before looking for his shoes. 

  
_“The shots are getting closer Vaquero. Ignore shoes. Out the window.”_   


He didn’t even hesitate to follow the voice’s instructions anymore since it often saved his life. He rushed to the window and crashed through it, covering his face as he landed with a roll. He rushed to his motorcycle and kicked it on, driving off in the direction his brain often took when he wasn’t thinking. _Straight home to the farm._

  
He’d been fixing it up the past few years into a safe house for himself and any Deadlockers in such situations. He hopped off the bike as soon as he was in the safe area of the land, rushing into the old farm house and placing his hand on the wall next to the cellar. The door unlocked easily and slid open, his brain coming back into focus as he went down the stairs, the door shutting out all light. He could easily slip behind the boxes of memories and disappear in case of intruders. He had the seemingly locked and chained cellar door to escape out of. _Thank god for technology._

  
Above him he could hear the roar of engines. It was hard to tell if they were friendly or not so he pressed his body into a corner behind old boxes that smelled like mouse pee and wet dog. Breathing through his mouth, he heard voices above him that sounded nothing like his fellow gang members. 

  
**“There’s nobody here Gabe. Maybe the gang scooped them up.”** The first man spoke, obviously unnerved by the place. 

  
**_“What Jack, scared of ghosts? There’s visible footprints in this dust leading to that section of wall in the kitchen. Give me a hand.”_ ** The other spoke with a slightly gruffer voice before banging on the wall until there was a metal clang. 

  
Jesse took that as his cue to bolt and slid to the stairs to the cellar door to the outside, creeping up them as quietly as he could before kicking the doors and bolting. 

  
He could hear people shouting and gunfire behind him but he didn’t care. If he made it back to his bike he would be home free. 

  
_Thirty feet._ He could feel his lungs burning, the shouts getting closer. 

  
_Twenty feet._ He was so close now he could see the keys still in the ignition. 

  
_Ten feet._ He was stumbling a bit, scrambling to get to safety. 

  
_Five feet._ And that’s when he was tackled and he felt a stabbing pain in his back, everything going dark.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I bet you are all wondering where the hell I disappeared to. Well I'm going to New York Comic Con this year after winning passes in a raffle. I've also been working my little ass off and we put one of our dogs down. So honestly, it's been a lot. But I might have more time in the spring once I hopefully start school again! My dad might have a job! So here's the next installment of the fic. Enjoy~

Jesse woke up slowly, his head pounding and his vision unfocused. Well...one side really was unfocused. His right side was as sharp as ever. _Thank god for demons._ He shut his left eye so he could look around the room. Plain grey walls, plain grey desk. Annoying ticking clock on the wall. _Had it all been a dream? Maybe he was back in 2017 in the police headquarters._ One look to the door told him differently. _Hand scanner. Well damn._

  
He sighed and started working on the cuffs. He always kept a lock pick in the weirdest places so it was easy enough to get it out, unlock and hold the cuffs so it looked like he was still handcuffed. Then he scooted the chair he was in over to the wall to hide the fact he had broken out. _He just needed an opening._

  
But nobody came. He was left to stare at the clock for an hour as his vision cleared and his head stopped pounding. He had actually begun to fall asleep before he heard the unmistakable noise of shoes on a floor, muffled by the door. _Coming, thirty feet out._ He didn’t even bother speaking to the demon in his head, responding as he glared at the door. 

  
It slid open to reveal a man, dark skin covered in scars and dark eyes that almost seemed to hold malice. He walked in slowly, as if trying to intimidate Jesse. But that hadn’t worked in high school. It wouldn’t work now. 

  
“So this little runt is what gave up such a chase? That took out twelve of my men in a last stand?” The man quirked a brow and Jesse quickly tried to think. _Dammit he didn’t remember that part. He had fired off some shots but he didn’t even realize they hit._ _  
_

  
“So what…” He growled it out, his own self preservation trying to show he was tough too. 

  
“Hm...Still have some fire left in you. And you got your cuffs off.” The man smirked. “Don’t give me that look, it’s the oldest trick in the book. I would know.” He shook his head with an evil smile and paced back and forth in front of Jesse. 

  
“You’ve got two choices here kid. You tell me what I need to know, or you go to jail. Maximum security. And don’t try playing off that you aren’t Deadlock. You have the tattoo. We’ve traced ballistics from your gun to shots in the Deadlock’s bar along with your fingerprints.” 

  
Internally, Jesse was freaking the fuck out. _He’d nearly forgotten how advanced society had become, especially since he’d been living in Deadlock Gorge for so long. It had messed him up a lot with catching up._ He managed to keep a neutral expression though. 

  
“Alright...Athena, stop recording.” 

  
**Yes Commander Reyes.**

  
Commander Reyes smirked and stopped right in front of Jesse. He seemed to move so fast Jesse didn’t even have time to react before he was on the ground with the handcuffs skittered away across the floor and a boot impression on his face. 

  
“Your little gang ratted you out. I know your weaknesses. I know your name _Jesse McCree_ . All I want to know is where your boss is. Got it?” Reyes smirked, looming over Jesse. 

  
“Fuck...off.” He actually spat on Reyes, ready to fight him off if need be. 

  
Jesse heard a switchblade open and a boot get planted on his lower back as he screamed out in pain. The blade found its’ way right against his cheek, slicing it open enough for blood to start flowing. _This was it. This was how he died._

  
“I’ll ask again. Where. Is. Your. Leader.” Reyes put poison on every word but Jesse could barely hear from the ringing in his ears.

  
  
_“I will take care of you. Let me free.”_

  
  
Jesse’s body relaxed as he felt that all too familiar calm fire shoot through his veins. His hand quickly moved to the blade and shoved it into Reyes’ shin, rolling out from under his foot as soon as he let up the pressure. 

  
He was up like a shot, hands in position and ready to fight. His eyes were hyper focused, as if an entirely new person. 

  
“Damn kid. Alright, if a fight’s what you want.” Reyes looked almost pleased to be fighting this kid. 

  
There was no more time for talk as they launched into a fist fight. Both males were matching blow for blow, giving no room for any sort of tactics. Any leg sweep by Reyes was countered by Jesse jumping and going for his face with a kick. The room was practically destroyed in a minute or even less. 

  
The fighting only stopped when a woman opened the door and ripped them apart. Jesse’s ‘fight’ left him all at once as he glared, the heat in his blood dissipating until his eyes unfocused. He secretly shut his left eye so he could still see. 

  
“Now that is enough! Gabriel, you should know better.” The woman spoke almost like a mother scolding a child. 

  
“Ana...Look it was all I could do! He won’t give me anything.” He was set down and wiped the blood off his lip, going and grabbing his beanie that had been flung onto the camera in the corner. 

  
“Well then maybe he’d be be better suited for you. Stubborn, a good fighter. A lot like you at that age.” She smiled and set Jesse down. She still kept a firm grip on his shirt though. “Why don’t you take him in. He'd fit well in BlackWatch don’t you agree?” 

  
“I’m not getting any chance to say no am I.” Reyes put his beanie back on and sighed. 

  
“Nope.” She smiled and let go of Jesse before sticking him with a needle. 

  
_He was really starting to hate blacking out._


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you're probably wondering where I went. What happened to me. Sickness is the easiest explanation along with quitting my job last month. Also I decided to take a new spin on McCree losing his arm. So the point is, I'm finally back to updating! I hope you enjoy after this long hiatus.

The time since he had been brought into Blackwatch was...had been...well it was hard to say. He wasn’t the best at adjusting to new situations and with the strict schedule they had him on it was hard to count the days or even weeks. He knew it had been more than a year or two at the least and they really had no information on him outside of his new life in Deadlock.  _ Just a desert pup they picked up off the side of the road. No further questioning. _   


  
He figured at least he had that to his name. He was an unknown entity with a back problem. A rogue being who was being tamed and morphed into a proper soldier. Back in his childhood Jesse could never understand what purpose soldiers had. They disappeared off to distant lands and never came home like his cousin Rodrigo. They came back in pieces in wars they didn’t know why they fought for in the first place.   


  
Now he was one of them, becoming a weapon against omnics. He still didn’t even understand the concept of omnics but it was better to play along that he understood the shit that they were dealing with. Nobody suspected at least and other than the back issues, nobody questioned his health.   


  
Well, nobody but the angelic Swiss girl Angela Ziegler. But honestly she just gave Jesse weird glances every so often when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. Was it the fact he was getting a bit of a cough? Or maybe it was his shots getting off target. He definitely hadn’t been feeling well but that was mostly just the demon being salty and messing him up. Or maybe it was the cold that was getting him a bit off. It was probably just something from when he went to England without official Overwatch means. But that was how Blackwatch rolled, at least from what he’d been involved in.

  
When he really thought about it he’d been feeling worse and worse since he left London. It was like a slow creeping, making him back track his thoughts to when he developed new ‘symptoms’. _ Had he always looked so tired? Had he always had that weird twitch to his hand? How long had that been going on. _ _  
_

__  
This morning had been like the last three, him taking a while to get out of bed. His head swimming the moment he gained consciousness. A few coughs to clear his chest and he was standing...for about three seconds. The next thing he knew his vision went dark as if he’d blinked. As soon as his eyes opened he saw his commander in his field of vision with a terrified expression.   


  
_ Well, he was probably going to get yelled at. But at least he wasn’t warm anymore.  _ He tried to look away from Reyes and he saw Angela right in his peripheral vision with actual anic in her eyes.  _ Okay...maybe it wasn’t just a cold. _   


  
He felt his body being picked up and realized he was on a stretcher of some kind, being raced to the med bay. He had to shut his eyes since the movement alone was making his head pound. He couldn’t even hear his demonic companion right now which was probably the worst part. All the years and he couldn’t even get a clue what was going on.   


  
He decided it was better to let his mind slip to the darkness for the time being, his breathing slowing and the world around him dulling out to nothingness.

  
  
_ Jesse’s eyes opened to a bright light, near blinding as he looked around, a hand to his eyes. It was...beautiful from what he could see. All sorts of beautiful columns and buildings of white and gold. Was he dead? He had to be dead. _ _  
_

__  
_ He took a few tentative steps, not hearing any sounds, no voices or heavenly choir. He frowned, letting his hand fall as he adjusted to the light. He didn’t belong here. He didn’t...couldn’t...be dead. Then he heard the softest voice behind him, a voice he still heard in the back of his mind. _ __  


__  
_ “Mijo...you’ve grown so well…” _ __  


__  
_ “Mama?” _ __  


__  
_ He turned to see his mother just as he remembered, beauty and hard lines etching her skin from years of hard but worthwhile work. She even had the same dress as the day he left. She looked so sad yet so happy to see him. She walked over and put her hands to his face. _ __  


__  
_ “My little boy...I never should have let you go…” _ __  


__  
_ “It’s okay mama. I lived. I survived.” _ __  


__  
_ “And now you must go back. Jesse...it’s not your time yet.” _ __  


__  
_ “But…” _ __  


__  
_ “No buts mijo. I’ll be here waiting with everyone else. I love you.” _ __  


_  
_ _ Jesse felt himself pulled back, pulled from the beautiful landscape back into the darkness once more. _

  
  
Then, a voice, soft like a whisper echoed into the darkness and pulled him back...to the most ungodly pain he’d ever felt. It was like his entire left arm was on fire but it stopped below the elbow. And he felt cold... _ so cold. _ He tried to open his eyes, to get a sense of what happened but they weren’t cooperating. He felt a hand on his forehead and the voice of his commander.   


  
“Stupid kid...no wonder it took over his body like that...You’re sure on your findings Angela?”   


  
“Yes...He’s not from this time. His DNA...his genetics...they don’t match up with where he supposedly came from. It doesn’t match up to the levels of chemicals that should have been in his system from birth. My best guess is he was born before even the omnics became a thought...which is why we need to keep him isolated now. Who knows what other illnesses he hasn’t been exposed to. He could lose so much more than an arm…”   


  
_ An arm?! _ He tried to open his eyes, make a noise, anything! But nothing happened. He was trapped in his own body with no means of escape. All he could do was listen.   


  
“Then...He’ll be…”   


  
“In a coma, yes. For now at least. We need to make sure we can get his body used to our time’s sicknesses.”   


  
“And why didn’t this hit him in Deadlock! Why did it only happen now!”   


  
“It’s hard to say Gabriel. They have a different way, a different immunity. Maybe because he was around so many people immune it kept him safe from it. You did say one of your men had been struck ill from London correct? Maybe he picked it up there. Herd immunity is a powerful thing.”   


  
“Alright...watch over him...I need to check on Genji Shimada’s progress.”   


  
“Understood.”   


  
And with that Jesse was left to the thoughts in his own head and Angela’s humming.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just apologizing now. I completely forgot how I was going to turn this into a McHanzo. I really did. BUT I PROMISED MCHANZO SO I AM WRITING ANOTHER FIC FOR THAT. Sorry guys ^^ Enjoy what's an epilogue for this fic.

Time. That’s all Jesse McCree had after the illness. Time and medical tests. Sure, the food was good but he was itching for freedom, itching to run. He hated being cooped up with rumors flying every month. The slow progress and the even slower learning had him biting for freedom.

  
It wasn’t like he could hide his secrets anymore. After all, Gabriel had turned his room upside down and found the letters. He’d gone back to the farm and tore the basement apart.  _ He found the photos. _ The yearbook from high school...the drawings from Will. Everything.   


  
Now all that was left was for his side of the story. For his secrets to spill like the Chalice of truth. It came slow to him, the wounds still seeming so fresh in his mind. The lab, the liquid. Waking up in a time he had no idea about. The loss of his family and everything he’d ever known.   


  
They were sympathetic at the least, especially as he learned more about his situation. The world that he lived in. Everything around him really was different than he imagined.   


  
But he learned, he coped. He grew. It was all he really could do in a situation like this. Cope and survive, just like the demon had always told him to do with sweet words and sweeter fire. Every day, week, month he grew stronger with his bioware. He grew stronger with his mind.   


  
And then it all fell apart.   


  
It had only been an argument but argument after argument leads to downfall in so many ways. Genji had fled long ago to find himself and now it was more than likely Jesse would do the same. Something had changed in Blackwatch and he couldn’t tell what it was. Maybe the increase in fighting, the secrecy...it didn’t matter.   


  
He packed his bags in the middle of the night, with a heavy heart and an even heavier conscience. His old boots felt comforting when he slipped them on, a constant in his turbulent new world. He’d never know everything; hell, he barely even knew his old home. But that meant the world barely knew him back and that...that would mean a brand new start.


End file.
